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Road to the White House Mini-Lesson
TOPIC: CAMPAIGN STRATEGY (Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards)
CREDIT: This lesson was created by Kristina Eggenberger, Alma High School, Alma, MI and Keith Matune, S.E. Gross Middle School, Brookfield, IL

TOPIC: CAMPAIGN STRATEGY (Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards)
Event Date: 1/30/04 | Air Date: 2/1/04 |

Watch entire program

links in the lesson |

Lesson Index

OVERVIEW
Politicians are often accused of not understanding the problems of average citizens or possibly being "too far removed" or "out of touch" from their everyday reality. Because of this, candidates may present themselves to potential voters as "regular people" who understand the hopes, fears and dreams of average Americans. In a variety of forums, debates, stump speeches, or in one-on-one conversations, candidates share their "American Dream" story.	Video Clip 1 - Watch clip of Dennis Kucinich Clip 2 - Watch clip of John Edwards Watch entire program
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What type of personal background might make a candidate more attractive to voters? What type of personal background is most relevant to the job of president of the United States? 2. What campaign technique is used by Dennis Kucinich? How does the audience respond? What are the stand out words, phrases or moments? 3. What campaign technique is used by John Edwards? How does the audience respond? What are the stand out words or phrases? 4. What goals are these candidates trying to achieve in these clips? Are they successful? Why or why not? How can a candidate whose background is now "above average" (economically) convince voters that he/she understands their problems? 5. Would you think differently about a candidate who was found to be dishonest about his background that was intentionally fabricated or embellished as a ploy to appeal to voters? Is honesty about personal background as important as honesty about experience and campaign promises?
STUDENT ACTIVITY
Pretend that you are a candidate running for president. Write your own "American Dream" speech that will help you form a bond with voters. APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE: Compare and Contrast. In general terms, define what makes up a person's background - what is it? Is it a combination of how much money someone comes from, level of education, place where they lived/grew up, attended public vs. private school, college they attended, military service, married, with or without children, etc.? Look at biographies of other candidates. What type of background does each candidate have? How will these backgrounds help or hurt these candidates?

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